It is a well-known fact that knowing more than one language can make you hugely attractive to employers. This is especially true when it comes to those of you who are applying to multinational corporations. As more job seekers are starting to realise that language skills could make them stand out in today’s competitive job market, language courses are becoming more and more popular.

About to start a job hunt? Here are some of the main reasons why you should consider learning a foreign language to make you more employable:

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are currently hoping to find a new job, or just looking to make a move, there are so many resources now easily available to help you learn a new language and in turn make you more employable. Before you get started, you should figure out which languages are the most popular to learn so you know what will make you more employable. There’s no point learning French if jobs in your sector want Italian speakers. There are plenty of free resources available online, as well as affordable language courses you can take. There are even apps that can help you learn at the touch of a button. You never know, you could pick up a new language just by practising a little bit at a time on your daily commute! Use any holidays and travel abroad to practice and pick up conversational phrases as much as you can.

 

Keep in mind that you don’t have to be completely fluent in another language for it to boost your employability. Often, just knowing a second language in a conversational language is enough to make your application stand out from the crowd. That is all that is really required to liaise with international clients and colleagues effectively. And if you already know how to speak a language and find that you just need to brush up, you could ask your employer to pay for language courses for you. They may make the investment if they can see the value for their business in improving your language skills further.

 

¡Comienza a aprender! Börja lära dig! Začnite učiti! Get learning!

Being able to speak more than one language has always been advantageous. By speaking and understanding more than one language, you connect with more people.

There are some languages that are widely spoken and the latest list of the approximate number of speakers of each language may surprise you.

Chinese tops the list with a projected billion speakers of the language. Spanish is second with over 414 million, followed by English with over 335 million speakers, with Hindi in fourth place with 260 million speakers. In 5th pace is Arabic, with approximately 237 million speakers of this ancient language.

Language and history

Many may be surprised to see Arabic in fifth place on the list. An ancient language of which there were and still are, many dialects. It was declared a ‘foreign language’ by the French colonial powers in Algeria and beyond. By the 1960s, the populations of many Arab countries were illiterate, both in Arabic and English.

It seems an impossible feat that six decades later, Arabic is now widely spoken. It is a sign of how powerful language is in both culture and history.

Speaking more than one language is advantageous, with some research suggesting that raising children bilingually has social and educational benefits.

Never too late

It’s never too late to learn a new language, with many people taking on the challenge with online language courses.

But is it worth it? And does it matter which language?

#1 Makes you smarter

Keeping your brain active with new challenges enables cognitive brain function to remain sharp. In other words, the bits of your brain you use to solve problems, plan and work on other mentally demanding tasks can function better.

Shifting from one language to another gives the brain a workout and you may find with online language courses that your brain responds quicker.

#2 More job opportunities

Some people think that you need more than one language in certain sectors or industries but frankly, in the technological age, the world has shrunk. In any job, you could find yourself talking with people from all over the world.

In other countries, learning, speaking and using more than one language is commonplace, with some suggesting that the UK along with other developed countries need to catch up.

#3 Protect against dementia

In the UK, dementia is the number one health concern. Keeping the brain active and challenged is, say some research findings, one way of staving off dementia. Studies have also found that someone who speaks more than one language is less likely to suffer from early onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

This doesn’t mean that bilingualism is a cure-all, and the study sample size was small but the conclusions were clear: the higher the language proficiency, the longer the disease appears to be kept at bay.

#4 Connections

Looking at the research for bilingual children, the findings are clear: bilingual children could socially connect with all kinds of cultures and people. As adults, we can do that too.

Taking online language courses doesn’t have to be an academic move. It may be that you want to enjoy the local culture more when you holiday in foreign climates, or you may opt to learn another language because you want a challenge, you have time to do it now and so on.

An expanding world

On one hand, technology has shrunk our world. On the other hand, language allows us to expand our own world. As people move around the globe, for pleasure or for work, they bring with them different cultures, ways of doing things and different languages and dialect.

By being able to converse in their language, no matter how basic, is to instantly forge a connection. In the modern workforce, you can have work colleagues from all over the world, so why wouldn’t you want to connect?

The list of top spoken languages in the world showed some surprises too. At number 10 on the list was Javanese, spoken by 42% of the population of Indonesia. Like many other languages, it has several dialects, meaning that it is spoken differently in some places than in others.

Learning a language is fascinating, allowing you to be immersed in the culture and history of countries.

Which language?

The choice is yours! NCC Home Learning have a range of online language courses including French and Spanish. The courses are comprehensive, enabling you to understand both written and spoken language.

Enrol online and starting learning a new language today.

 

NLP is a technique that can enable you to reach your goals and become the person you have always wanted to be.

 

NLP, otherwise known as Neuro Linguistics Programming, is a technique that can enable you to reach your goals and become the person you have always wanted to be.

No longer do you have to stand on the outside wondering how others are so successful. Instead by acquiring the techniques and skills taught on our NLP diploma you can gain an insight into how to change the way you tackle obstacles and tasks, and ensure that you are equipped with the tools to achieve success.

What is NLP and what do our courses involve?

We offer 2 exclusive Neuro-Linguistic/Neurological courses that have been purposefully designed to train you on how to handle and overcome certain everyday obstacles.

Course One: Neuro-Linguistic Programming Diploma

This level 3/NCFE Certificate explores the language of your mind and how it can be used to achieve specific outcomes. Delving into how people are able to attain their goals across a diversity of fields e.g. sports, education, management etc., this course analyses both internal and external communications, and the impact programming can have on the way your brain behaves.

Benefits for you: This course is particularly insightful for training therapists as it comprises of information and exercises that can easily be integrated into your existing arsenal of tools. The exercises in particular have been created so you can practice and consolidate your skills into one powerful package (read more).

Course Two: Neurological Conditions

A level 2 course monitored by ABC Awards, this course strives to help you understand the numerous conditions that can affect and alter your brain.

Caused either by injury or ailments, damage to the brain, spinal cord, nerves and neurons can greatly impact on the quality of a person’s life, not only creating challenges to the way they live but altering their independence and dignity.

Benefits for you: Our course is ideal for anyone considering a care worker role, as it has been created with the intention of enabling you to support individuals with neurological conditions, so they can live a full a life as possible. It is essential that you have a thorough understanding of how the brain works and the part it plays in the functionality of your body (movement, speaking, memory, thoughts etc.).

Our course caters to this need. Focusing on the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatments of the most common neurological conditions, you will gain numerous good practice tips on how to assist these individuals as well as detailed advice (read more).

What is NLP – Why choose this course?

Whether you are a therapist looking to broaden your skill-set, or you own a business dedicated to assisting individuals living with neurological conditions; both of our courses can help to enhance your CV and ensure you provide more accurate care packages/treatments/solutions.

With our course you will gain:

  • Recognised qualifications – both of our courses are widely recognised and accepted within the medical world, meaning not only can you walk away with a more thorough understanding of neurological conditions, but you can apply them to your job.As a therapist you can enjoy the confidence of knowing that you can provide your patients with more than traditional therapy techniques. Instead, you can combine your existing knowledge with proven neurological programming tools that can change the way they think and enable them to achieve their goals.Alternatively, if you’re a care worker, our Neurological Conditions course can make you a greater asset, as you will have a more thorough understanding of symptoms, treatments and techniques for improving an individual’s quality of life. Your CV will instantly become more attractive to prospective employers, increasing your hiring potential.
  • Improved sales and management – when it comes to hiring someone to care for a loved one or help you increase your chances of success, you want the best. You want the most qualified person for the job. Both of our courses are nationally recognised by approved educational bodies, meaning you can openly advertise these qualifications and increase your employability and profits.
  • Accessibility to everyone (employees/staff) – not everyone has the time to physically attend courses. Family, jobs, life… making the time to improve your CV can be hard. Luckily, all of our courses can be completed on your terms, either online or by paper. This gives you and your staff the flexibility to work on these courses, when it’s best for you, and complete them as fast or as slow as you want.Similarly, thanks to our monthly payment plans it is possible to split the costs into more manageable payments and finish this course, without ever leaving you short on money. This is especially ideal for those on a budget, as you can plan ahead, space out your learning and make our courses more affordable.

So what is NLP? It is your chance to become the person you have always wanted to be. Whether you plan to apply our NLP programming diploma to yourself or use it to help others, it is possible to change the way you think and achieve the same successes as others.

In turn, our Neurological Conditions course can help you to greatly improve the quality of life for those you care for. With greater understanding, you can employ techniques that will maximise their support and ensure they are living to the fullest.

If you are interested, head over to the NLP course page, and drop us a line if you have any questions.

If you have just launched a brand new start-up business, you may feel as though you need an all-singing, all-dancing website, with exciting features, bright colours and lots of images.

 

If you have just launched a brand new start-up business, you may feel as though you need an all-singing, all-dancing website, with exciting features, bright colours and lots of images. However, unless you are a gifted web developer, a website of this calibre is going to massively eat into your start-up budget. Below are some tips on how to create a website that promotes your brand, whilst attracting and engaging potential customers.

Speed

G-Design found that an important element of a successful website is its loading speed. They found that users expect a website to load in two seconds, and 40% of people will abandon the attempt after three seconds. You may know yourself, if a website isn’t loading instantly then you will click the back button to find another site to get your information from. While two seconds may seem very speedy in relation to everyday life, this can seem like a lifetime in terms of a website loading speed. Try not to include too many images, elements that require Flash Shockwave Player or embedded videos.

Contact Information

How frustrating is it when after browsing a website for a considerable time, you find that you have a couple of questions you would like to ask before you buy? You search the website for contact details for the company, only to draw a blank. As obvious as it may seem, some people do still make the error of not making their contact information easily accessible, meaning that they could be missing out on future sales. Make sure that you are easily contactable by potential customers – display your contact information plainly on a page that is easily found, and even consider putting some details, such as email address and phone number, on every page.

Text

You need to strike a fine balance when creating an interesting website. Whilst you need to use enough text to describe your business and your products, you do not want to run the risk of boring people! Make sure that information on your site details all the necessary information, but keep sentences brief. Ensure that you use interesting language, and consider breaking large chunks of text into separate sections with their own headers. When listing the details of a product, consider using bullet points to show the information clearly.

Personality

The websites of many big businesses often have a corporate look and feel to them, as they are attempting to appeal to a mass market. Being an established brand, they do not have to try and win their customer over, as they will most likely already have a strong client base. With a small start-up business, you may be starting from scratch, meaning that you have to prove to your customers why they should use your company. Here is where you can use being a small business to your advantage, as you can use your website to introduce yourself and any staff members you have working for you. This allows you to show that your company will award clients with a more personal touch than some of your big competitors.

Images

If you are selling products on your website, it is important that you display them in the most attractive ways possible. Taking dark, unfocused or even blurry pictures does not showcase your product well, and will not help you to sell any! Make sure that all pictures taken are on a light, clean background, are well lit and are in focus. Also make sure that your images are large enough to see clearly, no-one wants to have to squint to find out what your product actually is. Multiple images are helpful to people who wish to buy a product, but don’t go overboard! Make sure to take enough pictures to cover all viewpoints of necessary products, but you don’t require 300 pictures of the same product in the same position. Not only is this annoying for the website user, it also works to slow your website loading time down.

If you master all of the above, your website should look more professional, and be more appealing to customers. Below is a quick check-list of 5 more things you should definitely avoid, in order to keep those browsing your website happy!

5 things to avoid:

Pop-up windows: everybody hates irrelevant pop-ups interrupt their website browsing, and trying to hunt down the ‘x’ key to close them.

Music: Most people have had the shock of un-knowingly being subjected to music on a website that you’ve just clicked on. Steer clear of automatically playing music, if you must have music at all make sure that you have the option to turn it off quickly and easily.

Too much colour: Stick to a simple colour scheme, using a whole rainbow of colours makes a website annoying and difficult to read.

Terrible spelling: Lots of typos and errors in grammar can make a website look unprofessional, and put users off trying to read information.

Unreadable font: Make sure that you use a clear font, which is accessible across all platforms and browsers. Alongside making sure that the font is legible, make sure that it is a size that is easily read, normally between 9 and 12 pt.